large view "In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the inexplicable." - John Steinbeck

Course Description

Tenth-grade Transitional English, or English 2T, is a course designed to help students improve their skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. While we will read many of the same texts as students enrolled in a Regents-level English course, we will move at a slower pace and focus on improving basic skills, such as proper sentence construction, reading comprehension, and note-taking. All students will sit for a mid-term exam, to be administered in January, and a final exam, to be administered in June.

Texts

Selections to be made from the following:

Ordinary People (novel) – Judith Guest

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption (novella) – Stephen King

Monster (screenplay) – Walter Dean Myers

Animal Farm (novel) – George Orwell

Maus II (graphic novel) – Art Spiegelman

Of Mice and Men (novel) – John Steinbeck

Much Ado about Nothing or Twelfth Night (play) – William Shakespeare

The Glass Menagerie (play) – Tennessee Williams

Fences (play) – August Wilson

Selected poems, short stories, and essays

Grading Policy

Grading for this course will be done on a point system. At the end of each marking period, the total number of points you have earned will be divided by the total number of points available, thus determining your final grade. For example, if the total number of points available is 1,000, and you earn 850 of those points, your grade for the quarter would be an 85 (850/1,000 = .85 or 85%).

You will be graded in the following areas:

1. Tests
2. Essays
3. Quizzes and homework
4. Class Participation (see rubric)

All assignments are due on time. If we discuss a homework assignment in class on the day it is due, no credit will be given to late work, since its purpose has already been served. For every day an assignment is late, you lose 10%. In other words, if you turn in an essay worth 100 points a day late, you have automatically lost 10 points. If an assignment is more than five days late, it will receive a grade of zero. And since there is no extra credit, it is important that you do your very best on all assignments and make an effort to turn them in on time.

Classroom Policy

The following behaviors should be exhibited at all times:

• Come to class on time and prepared with the appropriate materials;
• Listen while others are speaking;
• Raise your hand if you wish to speak;      
• Leave all food in the cafeteria;
• Respect all property and individuals. 

Required Materials

• Notebook (loose leaf or spiral bound)
• Folder (with pockets)
• Pens (blue or black ink)
• Assignment agenda

Extra Help

I am available for extra help on Mondays and Thursdays after school, or during the day by appointment. If you need to reach me by phone, the number in the English Department is (914) 241-6098.  The most convenient way to reach me, however, is by email. My email address is tmorena0780@bcsdny.org. You can also visit my website via the English department homepage. All assignments are posted there, and it also contains helpful links and documents.

Critical Lens Outline (doc file - 25kb)

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